Hermetically sealed connector

ABSTRACT

The disclosure relates to a hermetically sealed electrical connector which is formed of a plurality of contacts which are interconnected by means of a conductive plate. The contacts are connected to the conductive plate and a pair of sealing members which are made of a vitreous material, placed on either side of the conductive plate. The arrangement is mounted in a connector shell and fired so that the sealing members are fused around the conductive plate and to the shell forming a hermetic seal. Contacts which are not connected to the conductive plate may also be sealed to the sealing members. The resultant device provides a hermetically sealed connector having sufficient rigidity and resistance to prevent unwanted physical contact between the members mounted within the connector shell.

0 United States Patent nu 3,597,716

I721 at 22; 3,493,915 2/1970 Cox 533/14 it 9 '9 George E. Durst, 0 8 Calit; Francis R. FOREIGN PATENTS W, m 883,980 4/1943 France 174/68 (.5) l 1 PP 829,071 Primary Examiner-Ernest R. Purser Filed 1969 Assistant ExaminerRobert A. l-lafer i 1 Patsnwd t- 3, Attorneys--C. Cornell Remsen, 11., Walter J. Baum, Paul w. l 73] Asslgnee International Telephone and Telegrap Hemminger, Percy P. Lantzy and Thomas E. Kristofferson Corporation New York, N.Y.

[5 4 HERMETICALLY SEALED CONNECTOR ABSTRACT: The disclosure relates to a hermetically sealed electrical connector which is formed of a plurality of contacts which are interconnected by means of a conductive plate. The contacts are connected to the conductive plate and a pair of sealing members which are made of a vitreous material, placed on either side of the conductive plate. The arrangement is mounted in a connector shell and fired so that the sealing members are fused around the conductive plate and to the shell forming a hermetic seal. Contacts which are not connected to the conductive plate may also be sealed to the sealing members. The resultant device provides a hermetically sealed connector having sufficient rigidity and resistance to prevent unwanted physical contact between the members mounted within the connector shell.

PATENTED we 3 l97| zazwg 62 g Ff/INC/fi hf //V6/7AM Y INVENTORS.

. ATTGZ/Vfy HERMETICALLY SEALED CONNECTOR I The invention relates in general to hermetically sealed electrical connectors and, more particularly, to an electrical-connector having interconnected contacts, portions thereof sealed in glass.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Hermetically sealed electrical connectors have beenused within a connector to from an effective seal between the connector contacts and the connector shell. Conventional hermetically sealed'electrical connectors utilize organic potting compound to position the contacts within the connector shell. Typical potting compounds utilized previously have been cast epoxy, polysulfide, silicone and polyurethane. It has been found that these materials are vulnerable to both leakage and movement of the buss member. Subsequent electrical failure of the connector, therefore, may result from the entrance of moisture into the potting material. Further, physical contact between adjacent contacts or the contact and the connector shell may result from the adhesive failure of the potting material. Further, the failure of the aforementioned potting compound materials has. led to the use of glass to bond between the connector shell and the contacts to effect the hermetic seal. The hennetic seal made of glass provides rigidity and resistance to physical shock for those elements mounted in the glass material. However, the elements adjacent to the glass, such as buss plates, which are normally mounted exterior to the glass seal but adjacent thereto, in order to interconnect a selective number of contacts, are still subject to electrical failure when physical shock occurs to the connector.

In order to overcome the attendant disadvantages of prior art hermetically sealed electrical connectors, the present invention provides a rigid hermetic seal made of a vitreous material in an area of the connector containing electrical components such as contacts and buss plates. Should the connector be subjected to physical shock, the seal provides sufficient rigidity and resistance to prevent unwanted physical contact between the members mounted within the seal..Moreover, the seal arrangement prevents leakage from occurring in the area of the seal.

The advantages of this invention, both as to its construction and mode of operation will be readily appreciated as the same become better understood by reference to the following detailed description when considered in connection .with the diameter rear inner surface 34 which terminates at the rearwardly facing shoulder 28. r

The connector further contains a rear sealing member 36 formed of a vitreous material such as compression glass,

whose outer diameter is slightly smaller than the diameter of the rear inner surface 34, and having openings 37 therein. A second sealing member 38, made of a similar material as the. member 36, and whose outer diameter is slightly smaller than the inner diameter of the flange portion 26, contains openings 39 therein. The thickness of the second sealing member is approximately equal to the width of the flange 26. Positioned between the first sealing member 36 and the second sealing member 38 is an interconnecting means such as a conductive buss plate 42 having openings 43 therein.

A plurality of contact members 52 are provided which extend through the openings 37, 43 and 39 and terminate at their rear end at approximately the center of the disc 36 and at their front end forwardly of the disc 38. Moreover, the connector may also contain standard contacts 54 which extend completely through the openings of the discs 36 and 38 remote from the plate 42 and contain a terminating portion 56 to which the bared end of a conductor wire (not shown) may be soldered or crimped.

In assembling the connector, the contacts 52 and 54 are secured through the openings in the sealing members 36 and 38 and through the openings in the buss plate 42. The buss plate, contacts, and two sealing members are positioned in the connector shell 12 with the outer front surface of the sealing accompanying drawings in which like referenced numerals designate like parts throughout the figures.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 depicts an exploded view of a preferred embodiment of the hermetically sealed connector in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 2 illustrates the connector of FIG. 1, partly in section, prior to sealing; and

FIG. 3 depicts the connector of FIG. I, partly in section, and fully assembled.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring now to the drawings, there is shown in FIG. 1, an

of the connector shell 12 is a polarizing key 24 for aiding in mating with the complementary plug connector. An inwardly extending flange portion 26 is formed on the inner surface 22 and forms a rearwardly facing shoulder 28 and a forwardly facing shoulder 32. The shell 12 further contains a reduced member 36 slightly spaced from the rearward facing shoulder 28 and the front sealing member 38 positioned within the flange 26 as shown in FIG. 2. The shoulder 32 may be utilized as a supporting surface to rest the connector shell on a firing fixture during the fusion operation.

These members are then tired in an oven until the compression glass fuses, encapsulating the bussing plate between the sealing members 36 and 38. Further, the contacts 52 and 54 are also sealed within the compression glass sealing member.

' Moreover, the sealing members are fused to the connector shell forming an effective hermetic seal. The resultant connector assembly is shown in FIG. 3. After cooling, an interfacial seal 64 which may be made of silicone rubber and containing forwardly extending protrusions 66, is positioned in front of the second sealing member 38. The interfacial seal contains a plurality of axially extending openings 68 having a diameter approximately equal to the diameter of contact members 52 and 54, which may be inserted through the openings 68. Each of the openings 68 are positioned through the center of the protrusions 66 so that when the contacts are positioned through the interfacial seal, the protruding portions 66 will provide additional support for the contacts.

It should be understood, of course, that while only two contacts connected to a bus plate have been depicted in the illustration, that normally, a substantial number of contacts may be utilized within the connector. Moreover, a plurality of buss plates may also be utilized which interconnect the desired number of contacts. Further, while the invention has been depicted for a receptacle connector, it should be readily apparent that the sealing arrangement is equally applicable to a plug connector.

Further, while the invention is shown and described herein as hennetically and electrically isolating all contacts from the connector shell, It should be obvious that selected contacts or groups of contacts could be similarly connected to the shell such as at shoulder 28 for deliberate grounding thereof when so desired, without disturbing the integrity of conductive elements not so desired.

Likewise, while only pin type electrical contacts are illustrated in the drawings, it is obvious in the description that the invention is not restricted by the type or cross-sectional geometry of the electrical conductors which are to be interconnected.

We claim:

1. A hermetically sealed electrical connector comprising:

an electrical connector shell;

from the inner surface of said shell, said flange having a forward facing shoulder, a rearward facing shoulder, and

an inner surface substantially parallel to the axis of said connector shell, a first portion of said sealing means being bonded to said flange innner surface, a plate member being mounted in a plane perpendicular to the axis of said connector shell and in a plane parallel to one of said flange shoulders, and a second portion of said sealing means being bonded to said connector shell'at said last mentioned flange shoulder, said sealing means portions being fused together so as to encapsulate said conductive plate member. 

1. A hermetically sealed electrical connector comprising: an electrical connector shell; at least a pair of electrical contacts positioned within said electrical connector shell; an electrically conductive plate interconnecting said electrical contacts; and a vitreous material positioning said contacts with respect to said conductive plate and said connector shell, said vitreous material being positioned on either side of said conductive plate and forming a sealing means bonded to a surface of said shell, said connector shell having a flange which extends inwardly from the inner surface of said shell, said flange having a forward facing shoulder, a rearward facing shoulder, and an inner surface substantially parallel to the axis of said connector shell, a first portion of said sealing means being bonded to said flange innner surface, a plate member being mounted in a plane perpendicular to the axis of said connector shell and in a plane parallel to one of said flange shoulders, and a second portion of said sealing means being bonded to said connector shell at said last mentioned flange shoulder, said sealing means portions being fused together so as to encapsulate said conductive plate member. 